Love is All Around
by Lady Mage
Summary: Written and completed in 2005, and posted now. Lily and her friends return to Hogwarts for their final year filled with fun, revenge, and love. LilyJames.
1. Letters

**A/N: Well, This is the first story I ever wrote. It just needed serious editing, so I didn't post it first. **

**Disclaimers and all that Unessesary stuff: Why do they even make us write these things? Everyone knows that J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and will forever own the charachters. So there you go. I said it. Now I can stop this nonsense and get on with the real story. LoL**

**Chapter One: Letters**

Lily Evans was lying in bed in her pajamas staring into space wondering when the painters would come to finish painting her room green and purple so she could put her room back in order. There were overturned chairs on her desk and books and posters in her bath. Her owl, Achilles, swooped in through the window, carrying two letters. Achilles was a tawny owl, swift, quick, and altogether reliable. She watched him go to his cage, get some water, and look at her as if to say, _you need to clean out my cage_.

Grinning, she reached for the letters. Both letters were addressed to Lily Evans, 34 Flower Lane, top floor, second bedroom on the left. The first letter was from _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ telling her the books and equipment that was needed for seventh years.

She opened the second letter and a red-gold something fell out and disappeared underneath her purple and green covers. She dived under, found it, and held it up to the light so she could see what it was. It was a head girl badge. Mystified, Lily turned to the letter. It read:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted as this year's Head Girl. You and Mr. Potter will be working together—_

Lily stopped smiling immediately. James Potter? That arrogant bastard? The immature prat she knew and hated. Hold on a sec. They had to be joking! What the heck was Dumbledore on? Floo Powder? Lily continued:

_all year _(ALL YEAR? Lily groaned under her breath- that was something she really didn't need) _to plan the school dances, trips to Hogsmeade, patrol the halls, check on the prefects, and organize the Yule Ball and other school balls. Below are the passwords and instructions to be given to the prefects…_

_Gryffindor: shooting star_

_Ravenclaw: gillyweed_

_Hufflepuff: sugar quills_

_Slytherin: snake skin_

_All prefects are to patrol the halls once a week between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M., so have them sign up for a time that is good for them at the prefect meeting in the Head Car on board the Hogwarts Express. What ever nights no one is patrolling, you and Mr. Potter will patrol._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock_

Lily fell back onto her pillow. Being alone in the halls with Potter between nine and ten? Knowing him, he would probably try to make out or something… She was going to have a terrible year that was for sure… She hated him… he was so immature, selfish, and arrogant! "Arghhhh!" She yelled aloud, "Why does it always have to be me?"

* * *

James Potter was sound asleep in his bed, dreaming about Lily's beautiful red hair. That is, he was, until Sirius decided to dump ice cold water on him. 

"What the bloody hell was that for, mate?" James swore, dripping. "I having a dream about her, and she was actually being nice to me!"

"Ugh" said Sirius, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Padfoot, you should be used to it by now" said Remus. "He's liked her for five years now"

"Whoaa" said Peter. "I had no clue"

"Where have you been, Wormtail?" Remus questioned

* * *

"Boys! Breakfast time! And then we have to go to Diagon alley to get your new books and school stuff!" yelled James' mother, a plump, motherly woman who had taken all four boys called "the Marauders" under her wing. Peter and Remus were staying at James house so they could go to Diagon Alley together. (Sirius had run away from home the previous year, now lived at Godric's Hollow with James.) 

"Coming Mum" all four boys chanted, and raced down the stairs seeing who could get there first.

At breakfast, Mrs. Potter gave them their Hogwarts Letters.

"Here's yours, Sirius. And yours Remus. Here you go Peter" Helen Potter said while handing out the letters. However, she was left with two more, both addressed to Mr. James Harold Potter. "Here you go James" she said. "I guess they made a mistake and sent you two"

But James was not listening. He had opened the first letter and was staring in shock at its contents: a letter and a shiny new HEAD BOY badge.

Mutely, he passed the badge to Sirius who fell off his chair laughing. In shock, he read the letter:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted as this year's Head Boy you and Miss Evans will be working together all year _(James grinned) _to plan the school dances, trips to Hogsmeade, patrol the halls, check on the prefects, and organize the Yule Ball and other school balls. Below are the passwords and instructions to be given to the prefects…_

_Gryffindor: shooting star_

_Ravenclaw: gillyweed_

_Hufflepuff: sugar quills_

_Slytherin: snake skin_

_All prefects are to patrol the halls once a week between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M., so have them sign up for a time that is good for them at the prefect meeting in the Head Car on board the Hogwarts Express. What ever nights no one is patrolling, you and Miss Evans will patrol._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock_

James slowly smiled. Being in the halls with alone with Lily for an hour! This would be the perfect chance to get to know Lily better. Maybe she would get over her convictions that he was an arrogant, bullying toe-rag, as she had informed him in his fifth year.

He looked up to see Sirius rolling on the floor laughing and clutching his stomach. _Man, Padfoot is such a jerk sometimes, _he thought, and went to go get ready for the trip to Diagon Alley.

**A/N: Like it? Please tell me what you think in a review!**

**Ta ta for now,**

**magewhisperer**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Chapter Two: Diagon Alley**

Lily tapped the right brick and came into Diagon Alley. She immediately spotted her three best friends, Alanna, Haylee, and Alice checking out the latest dress robe fashions in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Alanna White was petite, smart, and very much the seductress. With black hair and purple eyes, she was the female version of Sirius.

Haylee Witherspoon, was 'freakishly tall', and wore loud clothing. She had blond hair with blue highlights, and on top of her tremendous height, she always wore high heels. Lily was convinced that her blue plastic glasses were just for effect, having tried them on in fifth year, with no change to her vision. She was from Texas originally, and while she no longer had a Texan accent, she tended to say 'Y'all' a lot.

Alice Smithfield was quiet among others, especially around her long time crush, Frank Longbottom. She got embarrassed very easily, but among her friends, she was a totally different person. She laughed, joked, and plotted revenge along with the rest of them.

"Hi guys! What are you-"Lily was cut off

"Hey Lily! Come look at these dress robes! They look just your size" Haylee yelled over the din.

"Alright. Hand them to me, will you?"

"Here you go" Alice handed the robes to Lily.

* * *

"Oi! Prongsie! Check out these Cleansweeps!" yelled Sirius at the top of his voice.

"First of all Padfoot, stop calling me Prongsie, second of all, you don't have to shout so loud- the whole store can hear you, and third of all, that isn't a cleansweep, that is a Silver Arrow! You knew that didn't you?"

"Yes, mother dearest" Sirius snickered

"Padfoot- Shut Up!"

"What ever you say, mother dear" mocked Sirius.

What else do we have to get, Moony?" James asked falling back to join his saner friend

Checking the list, Remus said, "I think we got everything, but personally, I need some new dress robes"

"Me too." James agreed.

* * *

"Hey Remus do these look—" James started.

"Guys, do these look alrigh—" Lily started at the same time as James.

They both looked at each other. Lily looked absolutely stunning in green dress robes with a v-neck. The robes fit her absolutely perfectly, and hugged her curves in all the right places.

James was very handsome in navy dress robes that showed off his well muscled chest and made him look like the dashing hero of some fairy-tale.

Lily gaped at James who flashed one of his award winning smiles at her. Her stomach did a back flip… He was so cute! _How come I never noticed it before? Because you were too busy yelling at him. Shut up! James Potter is _so_ not cute! _Lily sighed. She must be going mental or something… having an argument with herself in her head! She noticed that drool was coming out of his mouth, and his eyes were practically popping out of his head. She gathered herself together, then said wryly, "You're drooling, Potter".

Lily's lovely voice broke through James' thoughts. _Merlin's Beard, Lily is so beautiful! Where have you been for the last seven years? What did she just say? She said you were drooling, mate. Drooling! I never drool! Well never must be now, because you are drooling. SHUT UP! _James shook his head. He must be going mental… seriously. How many sane people had conversations with themselves in their heads?

The Marauders, Haylee, Alanna, and Alice were quietly laughing at their friends who were staring open-mouthed at each other.

"Looks like Prongsie and Lily have a thing for each other", Sirius commentated.

Lily whirled around, "I heard that Sirius Black"

Sirius smirked—both James and Lily were glaring daggers at him. Sirius went on "Looks like you two have something in common as well. I mean, you both want to kill me right now"

"I.will.get.you.back.for.this.Black." Lily yelled "Come on guys"

And so Alanna, Haylee, and Alice followed Lily wondering what they were getting themselves into.

"Okay. Here's the plan…"

-'-,-'-,'-,-'-,-'-,-

The next day was September 1st, and on Platform 9 and three quarters, and a young woman of about seventeen was saying goodbye to her parents. Yes, this young woman was Lily Evans and she needed to get done with saying goodbye to her parents so she could plant the first seed of revenge.

"Bye Mum and Dad! I'll see you at Christmas!" Lily said

"Bye honey! We're so proud of you" Lily's parents said

"Well, I've got to go to the Head's compartment… I might miss the meeting with the prefects if I don't hurry" Lily lied

"That's all right, honey. You hurry on to your meeting. We understand" Mrs. Evans beamed at her daughter

"See yah!"

"Bye dear"

Then Lily headed off, going to a place that most certainly wasn't the Head Car.


	3. Truth or Dare

**Chapter Three: Truth or Dare**

Creeping along in the baggage compartment of the Hogwarts Express, Lily tried to find the Marauders' baggage. She had been looking for ten minutes and she still hadn't found their bags.

She swore. This shouldn't take so long! She _really would _miss the meeting if she didn't hurry up.

Her toe hit something hard. She swore again… by this time she was in a really grumpy mood. But then she inspected the hard object she had hit her toe against. It was Peter's suitcase. If his was here, all the rest of the marauder's suitcases had to be somewhere near.

Sure enough, she found them quickly, and inserted some dangerous items into the trunks.

On all their clothes (including their underwear), she put itching powder that would make their skin break out with terrible boils, and in their shampoo, she put pink dye that was colorless, odorless, and altogether undetectable, that is, until their hair turned pink.

Then she turned and left.

* * *

Ten minutes later, a breathless and disheveled Lily burst into the Head's Carriage. To her embarrassment, all the prefects were assembled.

"Finally decided to join us Evans? Or did I keep you away?" James joked

"Oh shut up Potter" she said, and blushed.

"Now let's get down to business. The passwords are…" James explained

Lily regarded him. He seemed so much more… mature. He was accepting responsibly, and she had to admit, she liked this new James_. Hold on a sec. Whoa. Stop. Rewind. Freeze. I did not say I liked James and I did not just call him James…acckkk! I just did it again! Called him James again I mean._

"Any thing to add love?" James' voice broke through her reverie.

Lily glared at him "Yes, actually. Now pay close attention. Patrols are—Potter, stop staring—a night a week for each set of prefects…" Lily explained.

Now James was checking _her _out. She noticed this, but decided to leave it alone

The meeting was over; the prefects filed out.

And two very emotionally stressed people went to find their friends.

* * *

Lily arrived in a carriage that was collapsing with laughter. Haylee was going on and on about something. "Oh, James! I just _love _arrogant prats like you! Will you be my one eternal love? Will you—"

Alice, trying to tell Haylee that Lily was at the door finally went up and put a hand over her mouth.

Haylee tried to continue, but couldn't, and Lily walked in totally unaware of what was happening around her. Only when Lily sat down and looked around did Alice take her hand off Haylee's mouth.

Just then the door to the compartment burst open to reveal four of the most popular boys at school- the Marauders.

"Can we sit here?" asked a handsome, boy about six foot with black hair falling into his face and storm-gray eyes "Everywhere else is full"

"What ever love" said Alanna, batting her eyelashes at him

"So what do you guys want to do?" asked Alice

"I know two games" said Haylee "Truth or dare and—"

Alanna started s ing. There was obviously some kind of story behind it.

"All right. Let's play that" Sirius said

"Okay… love, truth or dare?" Alanna asked, addressing Sirius

"Umm… dare"

Alanna grinned evilly

"I dare you, Sirius, to turn your robes hot pink and leave them like that for the entire week!" Alanna said triumphantly

Sirius turned bright red, but, he did as he was dared. Every one laughed very hard, and Lily couldn't help but thinking _So, now his robes will go with his hair…ha! all the girls that he tries to impress will think he's gone crazy_.

"Truth or Dare, Haylee?" Remus asked

"Dare, I guess" Haylee said

"Ok. I dare you to write a love note to Severus Snape." Remus said "Signed anonymously, of course." he hastily added as she began to write.

"Truth or Dare, Lilkins?" Sirius asked

"Dare" she answered promptly- she didn't want to be thought of as a coward.

Sirius cackled wickedly, "I dare you to French kiss James Potter"

* * *

Lily's face drained of color.

_Merlin's beard_, thought Lily. This is going to be hard. She chanced a look at James. He was looking as though he had just been handed a million galleons. Her face flamed.

_Go on_ she thought_ you know you want to_. "Umm…James". She took a deep breath and looked into James's hazel eyes. She was calmed instantly, and she leaned in and felt his warm lips against hers. He shivered a bit as she slipped her tongue in, obviously not believing it was real. Though she wished she would not feel anything when she kissed him, she silently thought that it was the greatest kiss ever. Every one in the compartment began to cheer, and this made her cheeks burn even more. She quickly pulled away from James, who looked like he was fighting the urge to jump for joy. She bit her lip and wrung her hands.

"Wow." James said, amazed.

"Yeah." Lily breathed.


	4. Lily Potter

**Chapter Four: Lily Potter**

"Come on, y'all, we are here" Haylee bounced out of her seat

"Coming, coming, Haylee…you don't have to be so loud" Alice reprimanded

As soon as they were away from the marauders, and off the train, Alanna pounced on Lily. "I can't believe you did that!" she squealed.

"It was the dare, and I did it" Lily stated simply

"Well after that kiss, can honestly say your view on him hasn't changed? He _is_ a really good kisser." Alanna acknowledged

Lily looked up at her friend, feeling a bit funny... "You kissed him?"

Haylee spotted it immediately. Jealousy.

"Are you jealous, Lily?" Haylee enquired

"Ye- no." Lily stammered

"What do you say that our little friend here has always had an enormous crush on James E. Potter and that it didn't come out till now?" Haylee asked Alice.

"I don't have a crush on James" Lily tried to say

"You called him James!" Alice squealed

"I didn't call him _James_. I never call him _James_!" Lily protested

"DOES LILY FANCY _JAMES_?" Haylee called at the top of her lungs. Lily blushed. Alanna saw the blush and yelled at the top of her lungs "LILY HAS THE HOTS FOR POTTER!"

James was chatting with his friends, when someone yelled "DOES LILY FANCY _JAMES?_" and three seconds later "LILY HAS THE HOTS FOR POTTER"

* * *

He turned to Sirius, "What was that all about?"

"I don't know, mate" Sirius replied, and after looking worriedly down the table for a couple of seconds, he turned to snog his latest girlfriend, Abby something-or-other.

* * *

"Quiet, guys. The sorting hat has started" Lily warned

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty…"

* * *

_

Lily was still thinking about the kiss and how it made her feel, when a voice broke through her thoughts, "Mrs. Potter, shouldn't you be at the meeting with Dumbledore and your one true love?"

"Oh, shut up, Alanna!" Lily bantered then continued "But you actually are right. Bye"

James was waiting for her at the door. "So what was that shouting going on in the great hall?" he asked with a huge grin on his face

"Umm… my friends were going on and on about how they think that I like you" Lily said

James responded without thinking, "Do you?"

Lily thought for a second then responded, "Yeah, as friends, I guess"

James mumbled, "It's a start"

"What did you say?" Lily asked curiously

James was very glad they arrived at Dumbledore's office right then so he didn't have to respond.

* * *

Dumbledore greeted them "Welcome Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter. Please wait here; I will be back in no time"

Lily marveled at her surroundings. After all, it was her first time in the headmaster's office. James however, was a different matter. He greeted all the portraits like old friends, and they greeted him with the ease of a long time acquaintance. He was introducing Fawkes, the phoenix, to Lily when the door opened, and in walked Dumbledore.

"All right" Dumbledore said "I presume that you know about the Head's rooms?"

James nodded, while Lily shook her head.

"Well I'll tell you a bit about it since you don't know, Ms. Evans. The portrait next to the fat lady's is the portrait hole leading to the Head common room. You will share the common room, and bathroom, but have separate rooms. The password is Heads, but that is just default, and you will have to change it. Do you have any questions?" Dumbledore asked

"Yes actually, Professor. I was wondering what exactly our duties were. You mentioned in your letter about planning the school dances." Lily asked

"You get to plan four dances- a welcome back to school dance, a Yule ball, a Valentines Day dance, and a graduation dance. You get to pick the themes, and decide on the bands, decorations, and so forth. Good bye, and congratulations, both of you on becoming heads."

"Thank you professor and good bye" they chimed in unison.

* * *

"What do you think our password should be?" Lily asked James

James thought for a moment then asked, "How about 'James Potter is the biggest git this world has ever seen'?"

Lily laughed then rolled her eyes. "That is too obvious… every one would—" she broke off as she saw Snape coming down the hall, and reached out and gripped James' wand arm. "Don't do _anything_. And I mean it, Potter. However, he insults you or me, _don't do anything!_"

Snape walked by and spat. "Evening, potter. Evening, Mudblood."

Lily's grip tightened on James' arm "Don't do anything" she hissed in his ear.

Aloud she said, "Evening Snivellus"

"See" Lily said "_That_ is how you deal with him."

They arrived at the portrait next to the Fat Lady's. It was a painting of a tall, unearthly, majestic woman wearing loose, flowing white robes. She said, "Hello, my name is Athena, and I presume you are the new heads?"

"Yes, we are the new heads" James replied

Athena looked at them skeptically "May I have the default password, to make sure, please?"

Lily said, "Heads"

"Correct. Now before you make the password, let me tell you one thing. Once you make the password, there is no changing it. It stays the same all year round" Athena said.

"Alright" James said "the password is _Lily Potter_."

The portrait swung open, and echoes of "Potter, what the bloody hell did you think you were doing?" could be heard throughout the entire school.


	5. Revenge is Sweet

**Chapter Five: Revenge is Sweet**

"James! Sirius! Remus! Peter! What ever happened to you and why are you up so early?" asked their surprised roommate, Frank Longbottom, eyeing all their hot pink hair, boils, and Sirius' hot pink robes.

"What? Oh, my robes? We were playing truth or dare, and I have to wear these like this for a week," responded a sleepy-eyed Sirius.

"Well that too, but you all have pink hair, and giant boils," Frank said, seriously concerned of the mental state of his friends.

"I thought my skin wasn't feeling its normal, silky self," James muttered.

"This nut," Peter gestured at Remus, "made us get up to do homework."

"This is it! I've had it with home work we aren't even technically supposed to be doing yet! I'm going to get breakfast!" Sirius said.

"Me too," James said.

* * *

"Come on guys! We have to get downstairs so we can tease the Marauders," Lily pounced on everyone's beds.

"Coming, coming," Alanna got out of bed.

When they finally were all up and out of bed, and had gone down the stairs to the common room, they heard two sleepy-eyed people trying to convince a perplexed Frank Longbottom that they were perfectly fine, thank you, and that they needed to get on with their homework.

Alice saw Frank, and though she had a huge crush on him and was practically afraid to speak in front of him, she decided revenge was their first priority, so she squealed, "O Merlin! What happened to you guys?"

Peter sleepily, "Nothing, but Frank keeps going on about pink hair and giant boils."

"Well go look in a mirror, you'll see for yourselves," Haylee snickered.

"You know what Haylee, that's actually a good idea," said Remus.

"Here, I have one… somewhere that is… oh here we go," Alanna handed the mirror to Peter.

"Oh, My God!" cried Peter "I _do_ have pink hair and boils… why didn't I notice before?"

"Probably because you were _so_ awake and focusing _so _hard on your work," Remus said, sarcastically, before adding, "Why are you swearing by the muggle God?"

"O, something I picked up," Peter said, "Why didn't you tell me, before? I mean, you have them too."

"I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice… Peter; you are so utterly stupid sometimes…"

"Oh…" was all Peter had to say.

"Well come on, guys, I can't wait to see Sirius' face!" said Alanna impatiently.

"All right, coming," Haylee said, "Do you fancy Sirius? You keep going on and on about his reaction."

"Me? I so do not like him!" said Alanna, blushing.

"So says a girl who rarely blushes!" Haylee countered.

* * *

"… well, if I don't do this now, I'll spend the rest of my life wishing I had" and Frank, who had been talking with Alice, leaned in and kissed her.

Alice was in shock. She had liked Frank for five years now… and he had just kissed her. She beamed at him, then, with out hesitation, leaned in and kissed him back.

When they came up for air, he asked, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Of course I will" Alice replied, and leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

"Guys stop bickering for three seconds and take a look over at the couch," Lily interrupted.

Haylee and Alanna looked over, "Godric!" and "O Gryffindor!" were their two responses.

* * *

"Padfoot mate, why do you reckon everyone is looking at us and whispering?" James asked, looking around the great hall.

"Can only be good things about our bodies, right?" Sirius replied.

"And the way they move, of course" joked Lily, coming up behind them.

"Hey Evans," James said, putting what he called his 'lady-killer' smile on, "fancy seeing you he—"

"Sirius! What on earth happened to you?" Alanna asked coolly from the doorway.

"Nothing, except Moony made us get up at the crack of dawn to do homework that isn't technically even assigned yet," Sirius replied.

"No, I mean… you have giant boils and pink hair," Alanna countered.

"That's what Frank seemed to think too…" Sirius stated.

"Well here guys look in this mirror…"

Sirius looked… "Salazar- I do have—" but stopped mid-sentenced to look at Haylee and Lily who were laughing their heads off at his reference to the founder of Slytherin and his reaction to their prank.

He turned to Alanna, eyes narrowing, drawing up close to her and staring haughtily into her eyes said in a low, dangerous tone, "White. Did you have anything to do with this?" he said 'White' as if it was a curse word then he continued on in the same steely tone, "I'll have you know that the last person who damaged my beautiful face ended up in a mental institution."

"Padfoot, you're so down to earth! Why, you aren't conceited at all!!!!" James exaggerated sarcastically. Lily laughed, and James smiled at her…

At just this moment Alice burst into the great hall jumping with excitement "Hey guys, guess what? Frank just—" she began, but stopped when she saw the positions everyone was in. Sirius was looking arrogantly into Alanna's eyes, and she was grinning in his face. Lily was actually laughing at something James had said, and he was smiling at her. Alanna used the interruption to get out of a situation that was getting uglier and uglier by the second. Turning from Sirius she asked brightly "So what did Frank just do?"

"Oh… that." Alice regained her good mood and said more gaily, "He asked me to Hogsmeade!"

"Oh that's wonderful, Mrs. Longbottom!" they all cried.

A minute later Professor McGonagall's voice rang through the hall, "Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew, will you please see me in my office after you finish your meal?"

* * *

**That night in the common room:**

"So what did you guys have to see McGonagall about?" Haylee asked.

"James, Peter and I" Remus said, "were given a week's worth of detentions because of our boils. Apparently, there are some plants in the forbidden forest that give boils like these, and McGonagall thought we had been in there to get our boils. Sirius, however, was given two weeks detention, because he is supposed to wear his school robes on the first day of school and he is wearing pink dress robes."

The girls laughed. Revenge was sweet indeed…

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked. This chapter was written at the same times as all the other ones but never posted. There is one more chapter that I will post when I feel like I have enough reviews for this one. I just didn't want to leave this story hanging.**


	6. Love is All Around

**A/N: This feels like the end of an era. "Love is All Around" was the first chaptered fic I ever wrote, and the only one I have completed yet to date. "The Trials of Tonks" will shortly follow with the completed status- check it out if you haven't allready. I'd like to thank all of those who've stuck by this story through the years. Kudos to all of you- you are wonderful.**

**I hope you all enjoy this last chapter- a relic of my thirteen year old self. So, without much more ado, I give you:

* * *

**

**Love is All Around**

**Chapter 6: Love is All Around**

_In which Lily turns red a whole lot and she and James go on patrols. So ends my story, I hope you enjoyed it!

* * *

_James Potter sat in History of Magic, staring at the back of Lily's head and daydreaming. _Lily is so perfect,_ he thought. He remembered their kiss while he watched as she chewed on the end of her quill during her rapid note taking. He hadn't felt that strongly when he was a second year and declared he was in love with Sandy Dennis.

He prodded Sirius, who was asleep. Sirius woke up and mumbled, "but Bella got to pet the pretty unicorns, why can't I?" then he seemed to realize where he was and said "What did you wake me up for mate? I was getting my beauty sleep."

James pointed at the back of Lily's head. "That is the girl I'm going to marry" he said.

"Yeah" Sirius said "that'll come true in a world where I am Minister of Magic, Remus goes around in a tutu proclaiming his everlasting love of Snivellus, and Peter becomes the most powerful dark wizard in the world. Until then, I'm going back to pet the pretty unicorns- night, night."

James shook his head. He was seriously worried about his friend's mental health sometimes.

Their next class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. She had them work in pairs to review the vanishing spell.

"Black and White. Potter and Evans. Lupin and Witherspoon. Smithfield and Longbottom. Pettigrew and…" McGonagall called out names.

James grinned, and moved over to sit next to Lily. "_Vanisisco_," she cried, and his quill disappeared, leaving not one feather behind.

"Nice one," James smiled at her, and she blushed. He gave her a nod of approval as McGonagall gave her five points for Gryffindor and he saw the blush again. Since when did Lily Evans blush at anything he did?

"James?" Lily asked, peering into his face, "It's your turn."

"Oh yeah." James grinned at her, and she thrust a piece of parchment at him. He was about to vanish it when he saw a little doodle in the corner. Lily Evans? Doodle? Yeah right. He decided to take a closer look at it until he saw Lily eyeing him.

"Well are you going to vanish it, or just stare at it?" Lily snapped. James sighed. You couldn't keep this girl waiting.

"Miss Evans? Will you come see me for a moment?" Professor McGonagall called Lily up to the front of the room. The perfect chance. James peeped at the parchment. His jaw dropped. No wonder she had been so edgy about him looking at it for so long. For in the bottom right hand corner there was a tiny miniscule doodle that said James Potter with little hearts around it.

All day long James waltzed from class to class. Lily and her friends sat next to him through dinner. (Lily got called Mrs. Potter throughout by Sirius and Alanna) Then it was time for patrols. Lily got up at the same time as he did. They both grinned at each other.

"Usual splitting point?" James asked.

"Hmm…lets just stay together tonight," Lily said. James beamed at her.

They walked down the corridor, looking for miscreants. James thought, _I really want to hold Lily's hand…I could just reach out and grab it now…_

Surprisingly enough, Lily's thoughts were the same. _I wish James would hold my hand…Stop thinking that, Evans. Stop right now! But I do want to hold his hand. And kiss him and…STOP THAT THIS INSTANT! THIS IS POTTER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT! Oh yeah._

James took the chance and reached out to grab her hand. Lily felt all tingly and her stomach flipped. _Must be something I ate at dinner…_she thought.

"I'm glad you were head girl, Lily," James said simply, after much silence.

Lily's stomach flipped. "There goes my stomach again," she said, not realizing what she was saying.

"What did you say?" James asked, grinning.

"I said that aloud?" Lily asked, turning red.

James' only response was to smirk at her. Lily turned even redder.

"Jeesh, Evans. You'd think it was two hundred degrees in here!" he said, referring to her color.

This of course only made Lily turn redder.

They heard a suspicious banging in an empty classroom, so they went in to check.

"There's no one in-" James started, but stopped as someone locked the door behind them.

"You have to stay in there for two hours, or until you get together," a disembodied voice belonging to Sirius said.

"Have fun!" said a voice that sounded very much like Alanna's.

Both Lily and James stood there trying to process what had just happened. Then James said, "Well, it would appear as if we were locked inside a classroom on a stormy night with no hope of rescue. How _interesting_." He stressed the word interesting and gazed out into the darkness of the Quidditch pitch non-committaly.

Lily couldn't take it anymore. All the Mrs. Potters, and the way her stomach flipped whenever he looked at her, and her ever mounting blush. She just sat down on the bench and laughed and cried hysterically.

James immediately snapped out of his mood. "Oh, Lily, it's all right, I'm sure we can get out somehow. If we can't, they will come back in two hours…please don't cry… I've, er, never seen you like this before," he said, a little unsure of what to do.

His frankness startled a laugh out of her. "Neither have I." She sniffed, frantically searching her pockets for a handkerchief. "Oh, bloody hell… I always have one…"

James presented his to her nervously. Lily shook her head, still intent on the search. "Oh, I couldn't —"

"Lily, please —"

"No, really, it's all right —"

"Lily!" He took matters into his own hands and wiped away her tears for her, grinning triumphantly.

He sat down beside her. "Why do you like me, James?" Lily asked before she could stop herself. James looked at her startled. He put an arm around her shoulder. The fact that she didn't shake it off encouraged him and he said "Lily, you're so radiant. Every time I talk to you I want to jump for joy. You are so kind, you study hard, you are the top of the class, and you care. Yes Lily, you are the most caring and real person I've ever met."

His face was inches from hers now. "Oh James," she whispered. He turned and saw the look in her eyes. Her gaze was full of many things, but something he had never seen before stood at the forefront of it all. Was it love? Neither knew. He came closer and kissed her face.

The kisses were soft and gentle, his lips caressing over her tear-stained face. He finally found her mouth, and then his kisses suddenly weren't so gentle any more- both were in a sea filled of passion that neither had known existed. It was nothing like the tentative kiss they had shared on the train- this was the kiss of two people who were single-mindedly going after what they wanted- each other.

He started to pull away, but she moaned and brought him back for a longer, sweeter kiss. They stayed this way for many minutes.

"James" Lily whispered when they broke apart, "I do like you, you know."

"Lily, I absolutely adore you." James said. They both sat there, leaning on each other's foreheads, enjoying the moment. Then they began kissing passionately again, until Sirius yelled from outside the room, "Are you together yet?" When Lily and James didn't answer, he unlocked and door and stared. James was nibbling Lily's neck and Lily was running her hands through James' hair.

"I guess so," Sirius said to himself, "I guess so." Numbly he walked out to find Alanna. He was feeling lonely and wanted some of that love that had saturated the room Lily and James were in.

_And who knows_, Sirius thought, _maybe love is all around_!

* * *

**A/N: And so ends the story "Love is All Around". Thank you to all my fans who have been so supportive about me posting this and updating frequently. Thank you to all who reviewed, even if it was with criticism- it helped me improve my writing style. And lastly, thanks for putting up with me when I didn't update.**

**I hope you all liked and leave a review on your way out. This story is now complete. I am considering an epilogue, but it is unlikely. **

**Thank you to all again!**

**Lady Mage**


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